2012 Photography Challenge- The Color Orange

Our theme this week is the color orange. On a recent trip to Key West, FL, my husband and I took part in the daily ritual of watching the sunset. Every evening, folks from all over would gather along the west side of the island to see the show. Some would come in huge parties, grilling out hotdogs and claiming their spots among the available picnic tables. Some would come by themselves and reflect quietly, perched on a patch of sand, waiting for the sun to take its bow.

And the sun never disappointed. It filled the sky with beautiful streaks of color as it dipped below the horizon, creating for just a few moments a landscape clothed in orange light.

I always took a ton of photos, and I could have shown you plenty of shots of the sunset, but the reflection of the setting sun on the beach had its own beauty. So, to represent the color orange, this is my best shot.

So how did you do?

Email your “orange” photo submissions to me! Check out the Submission Guidelines. I will post your photos here along with any information that you would like to include. If you have a website, feel free to add a link to your site! I will be taking “orange” submissions all week!

Our theme for next week is “Bokeh”. See the information at the bottom of the post for details!

Submissions:

Western Oklahoma sunset taken from my front porch in Weatherford, Oklahoma. I only have a point and shoot Kodak camera and someone with a good camera would really capture the beauty. Our sunsets are the most beautiful in the world! The roses photo was of the bride’s bouquet at a wedding in Corn, Oklahoma.~Brenda Williams- Weatherford, OK, Cats Kids and Crafts.

This is a photo of a painting I did for one of my daughter’s friends. She was redoing her kitchen in “wine” and grapes. I also made the kitchen light out of a wine bottle that is shown next to the painting. Just put mini Christmas lights inside the bottle, attach a cluster of grapes to the bottle, tie on a bow of your choice. The orange tulip photo was taken in Northwest Arkansas at my Mother’s house. My Mother has amazing flowers around her house all seasons of the year.~Brenda Williams- Weatherford, OK, Cats Kids and Crafts.

Taken in Martinique, in the French Antilles/French West Indies. June 2011. ~Michelle Hughes- La Vie en Fuchsia

Took this one evening while we were fishing at Sweetwater State Park. This picture won me a Fox 5 weather umbrella! ~Debi- Lithia Springs, GA.

These trees are in our back yard. Why the one came out orange in the photo and the other one didn’t, I don’t know but it sure makes a pretty shot.~Ann- Cabin Chatter / Crafting Tales

An orange theme definitely calls for a Halloween photo, right? Here’s my granddaughter, Angelene. Her parents randomly email me photos like this during the day — little treasures when I’m at work. This photo arrived around Halloween and made my day. Angie is magnificent, but so is the color orange of those pumpkins! ~ Ridgely Jackson

Here’s my photo for the “Orange” themed photo contest. It’s an image of my granddaughter Muffy who was about 18 month’s at the time. We were at her big brother’s football practice and I was trying to distract her from running on the field for the umteenth time with my camera. She loves to see her reflection in the lense. As you can see she fits the orange theme to a “t” from the hair to the dress!~ Karen- Clinton, MS- Johansson Studio

Aslesha Bali is one of the poojas performed to please the snake God, Kartikeya. It was conducted in my uncle’s place sometime ago. The main object of pooja here is the rangoli of NAGA, or snake God. The rangoli is really beautiful with vibrant colors.~Deepthi- India- My Reflections, My Blog

A crate of oranges with one apple sitting in. Just love the color orange!~ Eileen

Our Theme for Next Week- ‘Bokeh’

This week we are going to learn a new technique called shooting ‘bokeh’. Bokeh refers to good quality, aesthetically pleasing blurring in the out-of-focus areas of a photograph. Often times bokeh shows up as spherical highlights in the background of a photo caused by the camera lens. Sometimes bokeh is used to showcase the subject or in-focus item of the photo, and sometimes bokeh is actually the subject of the photo. It is a very interesting technique.

Getting bokeh with a point and shoot camera can be difficult as the basic digital camera is pretty smart and prefers that your entire photo be in focus. Suggestions for acquiring bokeh even with a point and shoot camera are:

If you have a “portrait mode”, set your camera to that, or if you have an AV (Aperture Priority) mode, set your aperture to the smallest number. This will be the widest aperture for your camera.

A good way to get quality bokeh is to place your subject between you and a light source. Having objects that reflect light such as water, or cars shining in the sun, or even a night shot with lights behind your subject are good ways of getting the awesome looking orbs in the background of your shot.

Make sure there is plenty of space between your subject and the background. Your camera is smart and if items are too close, it will be sure to have them in focus too.

Step back from your subject and use your zoom to focus on your subject. Be sure to have your flash turned off, and if it is a night shot, you will most likely need to use a tripod to hold your camera still.

Here are a couple of examples to get you thinking…

So are you up for the challenge? Grab that camera and start practicing! Come back next week and show us your best shot!

Great photos as always Suzy! I love your first one of the sunset through the palm leaves on the beach! Gorgeous!

Just stopped by to let you know that I featured your mouse trap clips on my round tuit post this week! Round Tuit 90
Thanks again for linking up! Hope you have a great week!
Jill @ Creating my way to Success

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